


Girl Like You

by insertwittyname



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awesome Sarah Rogers, Bisexual Steve Rogers, F/M, Jewish Bucky Barnes, Pansexual Bucky Barnes, Trans Bucky Barnes, Trans Female Character, Transphobia, she's a saint and I want her to adopt me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-03 19:50:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11539260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insertwittyname/pseuds/insertwittyname
Summary: When Bucky is kicked out for being trans, Sarah decides to bring them into her little family. Steve is more than happy to live with his best friend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really love trans woman Bucky, so I thought I would write about it. They use neutral pronouns in this, but they are binary, they just don't really have much of a pronoun preference.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

“Steven, why aren’t you eating? Are you feeling sick?”

Steve looked up at his mom from the spot where he’d been staring on his plate, “No, I’m alright, ma.”

“Is something wrong?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I…” He sighed and looked at her, “Kinda, yeah. There was a problem with my friend, I’m worried about them.”

Sarah put her fork down and reached over to hold his hand, “I’m sure they’re okay. What happened? Maybe we can help.”

“They got kicked out—”

And that was all it took for Sarah to stand up and get her jacket, “Where are they now? They can stay with us.”

Steve got up after her, scared of what she’d think of his friend, “Ma, wait. I don’t think you’d want them here.”

“Did they do something illegal?”

“N-no.”

“Then why would I not help?”

“They…they’re trans. Transgender, I mean. That’s why they were kicked out.”

Sarah stopped in the middle of grabbing her keys from the dish by their door to look at him, “Oh. And that’s why you’ve been calling them a they instead of he or she?”

“Yeah. They use they pronouns, even though they’re a girl. A trans girl.”

She looked at him, confused, “And you think I wouldn’t want them here because of that.”

Steve nodded, looking down at his feet. He remembered every Mass in which he was told being gay or trans was a sin, and how devout a Catholic his mom was. She was wearing a cross necklace as they spoke. A moment later, he felt a gentle finger lift up his chin to look at her, her face soft, “Do you care about them, Steven?”

“Yeah. I haven’t known them very long, but…yeah.”

“Then they are more than welcome here, transgender or not. They can stay as long as they need.” She kissed his head, then took the keys and slipped on her shoes, “Now, come on. It’s almost dark.”

Steve smiled as he put on his jacket and shoes, using his phone to call his friend. They picked up after the second ring, “Hello?”

“Hey, Bucky, it’s Steve. Where are you?”

“Uh, sitting outside the elementary school like a creep.” They laughed a little, “Why? Gonna come join me?’

“My ma said you can stay with us, we’re leaving to pick you up now.”

“I…Steve, I’m okay. I don’t wanna inconvenience you guys. And my parents obviously didn’t turn my phone service off yet, so they must not be too upset.”

“See, my ma doesn’t really take no for an answer with this stuff. Besides, we’re already in the car on our way to the elementary school, so might as well accept that you officially have a place to stay besides the slide.”

Bucky chuckled a little, “Thanks, Steve. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. See you in a minute.”

“Alright.” Steve hung up and a few minutes later, Sarah pulled up at the elementary school. He got out of the car and made his way over to the figure sitting curled up against the wall. Bucky smiled as they looked up at Steve, “Hey there.”

“Hey yourself. You coming or what?”

Bucky stood and hugged Steve tightly, although not tight enough to hurt the smaller teen, “Thank you so much.”

“Of course, Buck. We don’t want anything happening to you.” Steve hugged back, then led them to the car, opening the back door for them before getting in the passenger seat, “Ma, this is Bucky. Bucky, this is my ma.”

Sarah turned back to look at them and shake their hand, “Nice to meet you, Bucky. Steven told me you’re a…a trans girl?”

Bucky nodded, “Yes, ma’am, but you can call me whatever pronouns. I’m not too picky.”

“I was told you use they, so I’ll use that for you. Do you have any clothes with you?”

They shook their head, “Nothing but the ones I’m wearing now, ma’am. My dad…he barely let me grab my backpack and jacket before I had to leave.”

Sarah nodded and looked at the clock, then started driving, “Then we’ll get you some, I’m sure there’s still a couple decent stores open. And you get whatever you want, okay? Dresses or skirts or anything else you want.” She looked back at them through the mirror, “Anything the $200 in my bank account can afford.” She laughed a little.

Bucky looked nervously at Steve, who was smiling, “I…I don’t need that much. Maybe a couple shirts and some underwear.”

“Nonsense. A girl needs options, and we can get you at least a few for now. A couple weeks from now, we can take you to get more, but this week’s paycheck is going to bills so we all have somewhere to stay.”

Steve looked back at them, “It’s no use arguing with her, pal. If anything, she’ll want to do it even more the more you object.”

Bucky smiled and sat back in the seat, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Rogers. I really appreciate all this.”

“Thank Steven. He’s the one who told me you were kicked out, I wouldn’t know to help if he hadn’t.” They pulled into a department store a minute later, and Sarah led the two teens in and towards the women’s section. She looked at Bucky, “So, you’ll need underwear, socks, some shirts and pants, and maybe a dress or two, if you want. Would you rather split up and you look for underwear while Steven and I find things we think you’ll like, or all go around together?”

Bucky nodded a little, “We can split up. What kind of underwear am I allowed, ma’am?”

“Whatever kind you want. Although, I don’t suggest thongs. They’re not the most comfortable things, in my opinion.”

Steve made a face, “Ma!”

Sarah looked at him and rolled her eyes, “You’re old enough to hear those things. I had a life before you were born, you know.”

Bucky laughed a little and nodded, “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.” With that, they split up, Steve leading the way towards the shirts and pants to help Sarah figure out things Bucky would want. In the meantime, Bucky looked at all the panties and smiled as they picked out a week’s worth in many colors. They made their way back over to Steve and Sarah, who had already picked out some t-shirts and a couple pairs of jeans that Bucky did like. As they went, Bucky found a couple nicer shirts and a few dresses they really liked, trying everything on for Sarah, who helped find better sizes with a patient smile.

It wasn’t too long before the store closed that the three walked out each with a bag of clothes for Bucky, who was smiling brightly and holding a box with new shoes in it as well. With everything in the trunk, they hesitated slightly before hugging her tightly, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Rogers. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

“Well, start by calling me Sarah. Mrs. Rogers is my mother-in-law.” She hugged them back, holding their shoulders after they’d pulled away to get them to look at her, “And you listen to me: as long as your family doesn’t accept you, your home will be with me and Steven. You come home with him every day, we’ll put you on our phone plan, add anything to the grocery list you want. You make yourself at home with us. I don’t care what your gender is or anything. Hell, we can even see about getting you that hormone treatment if you’d like.”

Bucky had started tearing up at it all, nodding as they wiped their eyes, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

“Of course.” She smiled and closed the trunk, “Now, we have to get home so you two can eat and finish your homework. I know he didn’t finish.”

Bucky laughed a little and got in, leaning against the door and looking out the window the whole way back to the apartment. Steve carried all the bags in after Sarah mentioned him needing to act like a gentleman. Once they were inside, Steve brought the bags into his room and had Bucky help move his bed more to the side to accommodate the couch cushions they put on the floor as an extra bed, while Sarah cleaned up from their original dinner and ordered a pizza for them instead. She watched as they put down blankets for the makeshift bed, “Maybe your cousins have an extra set of bunk beds they don’t use anymore to give us. You can’t sleep on the floor forever.”

“I really don’t mind, M—Sarah. My sisters and I sleep in the living room in pillow forts all the time, I’m used to it.” Bucky smiled as they pulled on their new pajama shirt.

“You don’t have to worry about it, you can take Steven’s bed until we find something else for you two. Ideally, you wouldn’t share a room at all, being opposite genders and not related, but I don’t think either of you really want to share a bed with me.”

Steve shook his head, “You can trust us, ma. I wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t want me to in here.”

Sarah smiled at him, “You better not, or I’m kicking you out, and you better help Bucky’s parents take you in.”

Bucky laughed a little and sat on the bed, “We won’t do anything. We’re just friends.”

“Alright. Just know I’m watching you.” She headed back out to the living room to answer the door when the pizza got there.

Bucky smiled at Steve, “Can she adopt me?”

Steve laughed, “You know, she just might. We can ask later.” He nudged Bucky and headed out to the kitchen to get food, “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

After dinner, Bucky and Steve got to work on their homework. Steve struggled with the math, and Bucky smiled softly at him, “Need help?”

Steve shook his head, frustration still etched on his face, “I got it, just takes me a little longer. I’m an artist, not a mathematician.” He rested his cheek against his hand as he went back to staring at his math book, one finger running over the outline of his hearing aid.

Bucky moved to sit next to Steve, “I can tell, you’ve gotten most of the problems you did answer wrong.”

Steve frowned at him and huffed in annoyance, “Fine, then. Just the first one so I can figure it out.”

“Sure! Okay, so you see how that box is missing one of the sides? When you get the surface area, you gotta take out that side so it isn’t counted, otherwise you add the area of something that doesn’t exist.”

“Right.” Steve watched as Bucky erased his work for the first problem, unable to keep himself from feeling angry at himself for needing help with something so simple.

“So, you take the area of the whole thing, which is 6a squared, but since there’s only five sides, it would be 5a squared, and then plug in the one number for the length of the one side of one of…well, one of the sides and you’ll get the answer.”

Steve was quiet as he pondered what Bucky had written on his paper, “And I do that for all the other ones?”

Bucky handed Steve back his paper and nodded, “Yep. Just use whatever surface area formula goes with the shape in the picture.”

“Okay. Thanks, Buck.”

“No problem, Steve.”

It took them about an hour to finish all their homework, after which they laid in their respective beds, Bucky reading and Steve sketching. Steve glanced up at Bucky every occasionally, for reference, smiling softly as they were oblivious to it. They were cute, and Steve was glad the two had an excuse to hang out more now, although he wished it would’ve been under better circumstances. Part of him hoped his mom didn’t adopt them so Steve could actually have a shot with the only girl to ever give him any attention without obligation. After a while, when Steve looked up, Bucky was nodding off, so he got up and nudged them gently to wake them up so they could put their book away before he turned the light off and laid back down. Bucky whispered, not wanting to wake Sarah, who had gone to bed not too long ago, “Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah, Bucky?”

“Do you think she really accepts me? I mean, you guys are Catholic. And will I have to go to church with you guys?”

Steve was quiet for a moment, thinking, “I think she does, and she won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, especially once you tell her you’re Jewish. Do you need her to make kosher stuff?”

“No, as long as it isn’t a holiday, I don’t care. And I can make it that way if I really need to for Hanukkah or something.”

“Then yeah, it’ll be okay. No worries, pal.”

They were quiet for long enough that Steve thought Bucky had fallen asleep, but soon after he was proven wrong, “Thanks again, Steve. I owe you a really big one.”

“Do my homework for a week and we’re even.”

“Deal.”

Steve laughed quietly, “I was kidding. Go to sleep, alright? We have school in the morning.”

Bucky smiled softly, “Alright, sleep well, Stevie.”

Steve’s heart leapt at the nickname. No one had ever called him that before, “You too, Buck.” They both fell asleep soundly not long after.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Bucky woke up to gentle hands and a soft voice, much different from the usual shrill of their alarm clock. Shit, did their alarm not go off? They opened their eyes and saw Sarah, looking tired but smiling at them anyway, “Good morning, do you need to take a shower?”

Bucky nodded and sat up, stretching as they did so, “Yes, please.”

“Alright, here’s your towel and washcloth, feel free to use whatever you find in there. We can take you out this weekend to get you your own if you’d like.” She placed a towel and washcloth on their lap and leaned down to wake Steve up, the blonde needing more convincing than Bucky had. Bucky giggled a little at it and moved around Sarah to go take a shower. The water felt so nice after not having gotten one in a couple days, let alone the years it felt like since they started having to shower after three little sisters each got a turn. This was probably the first hot shower they’d had in a long time.

Afterwards, Bucky put their pajamas back on and towel-fried their hair before meeting Steve and Sarah for breakfast. Steve was like a zombie as he made some toast for himself and sat down at the table, Sarah putting a glass of orange juice down for him along with her own mug of coffee, “Bucky, would you like anything?”

“I can get it myself, but thank you.” Bucky made their way to the kitchen, looking around a little lost.

Sarah smiled again, “Cereal is on top of the fridge, fruit in the bottom portion of the fridge, and bread is in the box by the toaster. Silverware is in the drawer next to the dishwasher, plates are above the toaster, and bowls are above the coffee machine along with mugs and glasses. Do you drink coffee?”

Bucky shook their head and opted for some Honey-Nut Cheerios and milk, “No, ma’am. At least, not hot. I like iced coffee sometimes.”

“Well, ice is in the freezer if you’d like some.” Sarah chuckled a little as her took a sip of her coffee and nudged Steve to wake him up again. Bucky brought over the box of cereal, milk, bowl, and spoon and got their breakfast together before starting to eat. Both them and Sarah took turns waking Steve back up until they were done. At that point, Steve was awake enough to realize he needed to get dressed and take his medications so they could leave for the bus. Steve took his clothes and changed in the bathroom so Bucky could have the bedroom. Sarah knocked gently on the door not long after Steve had closed it when he left, startling Bucky, who was staring at the clothes. He opened it to see her in his scrubs tying her hair back, “I thought you might need help picking something out.”

“Oh…Uh, kinda, yeah. I just…I don’t know what everyone else will think if I show up in a dress.”

“That doesn’t matter. If that makes you comfortable, wear it. If you think it wouldn’t be safe, don’t wear it.”

Bucky sighed and looked back to the bed, asking quietly, “What do you think I should do?”

Sarah looked at them, then at the clothes, “I would wear a dress, if I were you. But this is your decision, you need to do what you feel is best for you, dear.” She hesitated before going to the bed and holding the black dress with red and pink flowers on it up to them, “With the new black flats we got, you would look gorgeous. We could even put a little bit of makeup on, if you’d like.”

Just thinking about it made Bucky smile, so that’s what they decided on. Before they left for the bus, Sarah put a little bit of eye shadow and mascara on them, only enough to be barely noticeable. It took a little while for Bucky to gain the courage to join Steve outside the apartment building, even with Sarah behind them watching to make sure none of the other kids did anything to them. Once on the bus, though, the stares were obvious. No one was out as trans at their school, so it was a new idea for all the already-mean middle schoolers. Luckily, high school was another story, and there were at least two trans kids there.

The ride to school was the longest it had ever felt to Bucky, even with Steve trying to distract them with some funny videos to calm their nerves. As they got off, some guy in the back yelled a slur at them, and they practically had to drag Steve off the bus so he wouldn’t get in a fight. That was the last thing they wanted. Everyone in the hallway seemed to be staring or glaring at them as they passed by, and the surge of confidence they had felt not too long ago when they were getting makeup put on was quickly vanishing. It was like Bucky was some sort of monster.

Bucky all but hid in their locker as they put their bag away and got their books and folders for their first few classes, trying to be less noticeable. Steve stayed by their side the whole time, making conversation about class or how he has an appointment with the eye doctor after school, and Bucky couldn’t be more thankful to not be completely alone through this. As they were about to leave to get to class, Bucky felt a tap on their shoulder, and turned around to see their younger sister, Rebecca. Their heart sunk, but they smiled away. They did love their little sister, but they were scared that she would hate them, “Hey, Becca. What’s up?”

Becca looked a little nervous, but she smiled and spoke anyway, voice soft, “You look really pretty, Bucky.”

“I…thanks. I got it last night.” Bucky looked down at the dress, rubbing their free hand on the fabric anxiously.

“I won’t tell dad, by the way. He said he didn’t wanna hear about you anymore, anyway.” She looked on the verge of tears as she hugged them tightly, “I still love you, though. You’ll always be my brother.”

Bucky frowned as they hugged her back, “I…your sister, technically. I’m a girl.”

Becca nodded, looking up at them, “Sorry, my sister. I always wanted an older sister.” She smiled a little as she wiped her eyes. Bucky could only smile back before she ran off to go to class and Steve started leading them to their own classroom. The interaction left them almost hollow. It should be a relief that their dad didn’t care what they did, even despite the circumstances, but it still hurt. Shouldn’t he love Bucky unconditionally? That’s what they’d been told their whole life.

“Buck, you okay?” Steve asked, and Bucky focused back on his face, which looked concerned.

“Sorry, just thinking.”

“That’s alright. Like I was saying before, maybe this means my mom can be your legal guardian or something. We can have her look into it and talk to your ma.”

Bucky just nodded, feeling more than a little numb. They were a little scared of having to go through all that legal stuff at such a young age, especially when it would mean not being able to see their mom and sisters again. Their mom had tried to stop their dad, to get him to at least let them stay and work around them being trans, but she couldn’t. The tears in her eyes and screaming she did stuck in their brain since they saw her watching them walk down the street to find somewhere to stay just a couple days ago. God, they missed her.

Class started like normal at eight, and the usual math lecture gave them enough time to make a list of everything they could do now that they were out to take their mind off their family. They could change their legal name, Jamie instead of James, although they didn’t mind being called Bucky. And after that, they could start hormone therapy, maybe even bottom surgery if they save up a lot of money. They smiled softly as they thought about going to senior prom in a dress with their hair and makeup done, maybe wearing heels if they learn to walk in them, getting a corsage and taking pictures with Steve…

“James, care to tell me what we’re learning that’s making you so happy?”

Bucky’s head jerked up at the teacher’s voice and they stuttered out the best excuse they could think of, “I—I just really like math.”

“Right. Well, if you like it that much, maybe try paying attention when I’m teaching.”

“Yes, sir.” Bucky replied quietly, sinking down in their seat as they felt everyone in the class stare at them. They could see Steve out of the corner of their eye looking at them, a little concerned now, but he turned his attention back to the board anyway. The second the bell rang, everyone was out of their seats and heading to the hallway, but Steve and Bucky lagged behind so Bucky didn’t get overwhelmed in the crowd. 

Steve nudged his friend gently, “You okay there, pal? Something on your mind?”

“Just thinking, I guess.” Bucky shrugged, turning down the hall to go to English class, “Now that I’m out, there’s more I want to do, like change my name.”

“To what? Do you want people to call you something other than Bucky?”

“Nah, I’m okay with Bucky, it’s more my first name. I’m thinking Jamie instead of James.”

“Oh, okay. We can look up the process sometime soon and talk to my ma about it, if you want.”

Bucky smiled softly at that, “Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks, by the way. For being so understanding. I know we haven’t been friends that long, I’m sure most other people would’ve given up on me by now because of the drama.”

“Well, surprise, the short kid with hearing aids and more drawing skills than people skills isn’t like most people.” Steve smirked and stopped in front of the door to Bucky’s English class.

Bucky laughed and nodded, “I’d take the short kid any day of the week if he’s gonna treat me this well.” They smiled and started towards the classroom, “See you in an hour, Steve.”

“Yeah, see ya then, Buck.” Steve nodded and waved a little, then headed towards his own art class. He couldn’t help but think about them having said they’d take him over other people for the rest of the school day, and if he happened to sketch them again in art class, well, maybe they were his muse.

~*~

By the time they got off the bus, Bucky was exhausted from school. Having to sit through all the stares, comments under people’s breath, and outright screaming of slurs was enough to make them ready for the weekend even though it was only Tuesday. Steve dropped his backpack by the door and instantly went to get snacks from the kitchen before they had to head up the street to get to Steve’s eye appointment, where Sarah would be meeting them after she got out of work. Bucky followed, putting their backpack in their room instead before sitting at the table with Steve while he ate chips. After a few minutes of both of them scrolling through their various social media accounts before Steve looked at Bucky and asked softly, “Buck, can I tell you something?”

Bucky looked at him, curious, “Yeah, what’s up?”

Steve was quiet, looking nervous, “I…I’m bi. Bisexual, I mean.”

“Cool.” Bucky nodded and went back to reading a viktuuri fic, “I’m pan.”

“Oh. Cool.” Steve smiled in relief and nodded a little, “Well, that’s good.”

“Yep.” Bucky read for a bit before they looked at Steve again, “Did you think I wouldn’t be okay with it?”

“No, I just…didn’t know if it would make you feel uncomfortable of something. You know, since we’re sleeping in the same room and all.”

Bucky laughed a little, “I’d be more concerned if you were straight, honestly. I don’t trust many cishets.”

Steve laughed, too, “I get that. I’m not out to my mom, but I think I might tell her soon, since I know she’s okay with people who aren’t cishet now.”

“Good, you should. And we can tell her I’m pan, too, although we might have to explain it. It’s not exactly the most common term yet.”

“Right, we can do that.” Steve glanced at the clock and got up, “We gotta get going, I have glasses to be tested for.”

Bucky followed his lead and got up, putting the chips away before grabbing their book and putting their shoes back on, “How do you know you’ll need glasses?”

“Because your face is fuzzy.” Steve smiled when Bucky laughed at that. They headed up the street to the eye doctor, Steve holding the door open for them like a gentleman, while Bucky curtsied dramatically in response. They sat and read in the waiting room while Steve got his eyes tested, but soon decided to start looking at the glasses, hoping to find a good pair for Steve. Not long after, Sarah rushed in from work, smiling and joining them in looking for glasses for Steve.

“How was school? Anyone give you much trouble?” Sarah looked at them, holding up a pair of black, square frames to examine them.

Bucky shrugged, “Not really. I got called names and there were a lot of people staring, but no one really did much about it.”

“Good. See? Nothing to worry about. They all probably thought you were too pretty to hurt.” She looked at them and winked, then turned to Steve where he was walking back towards them.

“I have astigmatism in both eyes, whatever that means.”

Sarah sighed a little, “Your eyes aren’t shaped correctly, nothing that can be helped. Here, try on some of these pairs, find one you like.”

Steve nodded and tried on the frames she picked out for him, but eventually settled on a pair of wider black frames Bucky had picked for him. As they waited for Sarah to finish paying for them and giving the receptionist the insurance information, Bucky raised an eyebrow at Steve, “So, you have weird-shaped eyes?”

“Apparently. I’m not surprised at this point, just add it to the list of all my other health problems.” Steve smiled sadly, but Bucky shrugged at it.

“That’s alright. Not everyone can have perfect health like me.” They smirked at him, and he elbowed them lightly, about which they overreacted. Sarah glanced at them, saying something about Steve not hitting a lady, and Bucky laughed a little, “Yeah, Steve. Is chivalry dead?”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Oh, hush. It wasn’t even that hard.”

“I’m delicate, Stevie. Just like you, clearly.” Bucky pouted and held their arm where Steve elbowed them, following Sarah out when they were done. As they headed back up to the apartment, they both took turns nudging each other hard enough to almost knock the other over. Bucky had never been happier than then, goofing around with their best friend while wearing something that made them feel good. Maybe it was a good thing that their parents had kicked them out.

**Author's Note:**

> To be fair, I am trans masculine and I'm doing my best, but if I mess up writing Bucky please feel free to correct me in the comments so I can fix it. I don't want to keep writing things that may be incorrect or rude or something without me realizing it, although I will try my best not to write anything like that in the first place.
> 
> But hey, thanks for reading! I'll try to update semi-regularly.


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